Books in Brief: Fiction

How can you not love a self-professed ''love story -- with rock 'n' roll,'' especially when it takes place in Italy, the land of fashion, food and dolce far niente? At 22, Enrico Brizzi has already become something of a cult figure in Europe -- and particularly in Italy, where ''Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band'' has reportedly sold 700,000 copies. Brizzi's story is fairly straightforward: Alex D. is a bored teen-ager appalled by the predictability and mediocrity of his life in bourgeois Bologna. He drinks, cuts school and falls in love with a beautiful girl named Adelaide. None of this strays too far from the usual coming-of-age fare. What is surprising, however, is Brizzi's style, which is as fresh and energetic as adolescence itself. And Stash Luczkiw does a remarkable job of translating contemporary Italian slang. ''Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band'' lacks the weight or polish to go down as a classic of the genre. But it does herald the arrival of an exciting young writer. Christopher Atamian